Friday, April 29, 2011

Hello, friends! Much has happened in the past month with the Stanford Gleaners! The harvests are looking PLENTIFUL this spring, and Glean is doing something about it!

Firstly, I'd like to recognize the efforts that Glean has made in some of their collections thus far. On April 7-8, the Gleaners harvested 93 lbs of oranges, lemons, and grapefruits from the FloMo courtyard and from the inner quad citrus grove behind building 200. These fruits were then delivered that next Saturday, April 9th, as a class to the Free Food Farm in San Fran. Two bus loads of Stanford students from Page's Foods and Community class showed up at the farm that Saturday eager and willing to get their hands dirty. A total of 29 volunteers showed up that Saturday and participated in various projects around the farm from painting one of the tool sheds and installing windows to harvesting various vegetables like chard, favas, lettuce, a few red peppers and some tree collards. It is clear that the volunteers felt inspired when they were joined by other volunteers who regularly take food from the Free Food Farm Stand. To them, it was heart-warming to see that these people were not just taking food, but helping to grow it. Sophie so eloquently quoted "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life."

On April 14-15th, the Gleaners harvested a whopping 194 lbs of oranges from the orange tree next to Mars, on the Quad (not too shabby!). The oranges were then delivered the next Sunday, April 17th, to the Free Farm Stand by Stanford students in Page's Foods and Community class. The farm was described as "heavy on good vibes." The table was graced with the fruit that the Stanford students brought as well as plenty of greens as well as some bread with delicious spreads including tofu pate, hummus, and citrus jam. The Stanford students all reported an amazing experience and expressed their desires to return back to the Stand.

It is important that the Gleaners continue to feel pride in the harvesting they do on the stanford campus, the planting they do at the Free Food Farm, and the giving they do at the Free Farm Stand. It is much more than collecting fruit and passing it out to people, rather it is making connections through a COMMUNITY effort to yield from the earth's bounty and give it back to those in need with hopes of inspiring a feeling of love and gratitude in the process.

"Let's be pollinators of love and good deeds. Let's fertilize the world with joy, care, and compassion for our neighbors and those under-served in our society."

Pounds of Produce Donated Since 4/24/2010

About Me

Started in 2009, the Stanford Gleaning Project is a volunteer student organization that harvests excess fruit from the Stanford campus for donation to underserved populations in the Bay Area. As food justice advocates, we believe in generosity, abundance, equity, and sustainability. All of the produce that we harvest is donated to the hungry and homeless in the Bay Area through our current and former partners, including SPOON (Stanford Project on Hunger), the Ecumenical Hunger Program, San Francisco Julian Food Pantry, the Free Farm Stand, and the Palo Alto Hotel de Zink Women's Shelter. If you're a resident of the Stanford community and have an excess of fruit on your trees, feel free to contact us - we'd be happy to harvest and donate your unused fruit!